#Honorsproblems – Buying Textbooks on the Cheap

Today’s #Honorsproblems post is written by SPA Michelle Stuhlmacher, a junior majoring in geography.
We’ve all had classes that require bazillions of books and therefore result in spending a disagreeable amount of money before the semester even begins. While some students might be happy to skip buying the books at all, UHPers tend to actually do their readings thoroughly — so having the books is important. But fear no more! Here’s six pointers to help you spend less on books so you can save it for important things, like brunch.
1) Just say no
The GW bookstore is so convenient: you don’t have to prowl the web for the correct edition, wait for shipping, or stand in line at package services. But this convenience shows up in price, so choose carefully! Once in a blue moon  you can find a really great deal at the bookstore, so do keep an eye out.
2) Bigwords
So what are the other options? There are magical websites like bigwords.com, booksprice.com, and bookfinder.com that will search a bunch of different online book sellers and tell you which one has the best price. I’m a dedicated Bigwords user so I’ll explain that site in a little more depth.
First figure out the ISBN number of your assigned book and type it into the search bar.

Pick the “buy or rent” option which will put the book in your bookbag. Repeat.

Once you have found all of the books click the “Start Price Comparison” button. You’ll end up with a page like this:

The side bar gives you all sorts of ways to narrow down the book type. You can rent, choose to include used/digital copies, or consider buyback value. Bigword includes coupons when analyzing prices (way awesome!) for this reason I recommend that you try to buy your books all at once so you’ll qualify for “Buy $50 and save 5%” type coupons.
Receiving the books you ordered online can take awhile so make sure you plan ahead…but we’re honors kids so planning is what we do best!
3) Renting
If you know you will never need to reference that $187 textbook again renting is a good option. Lots of online booksellers (Chegg, Amazon, Barnes and Nobel) and the GW bookstore rent books with the college semester in mind. Pro tip: read the rental agreement so you know when you have to return the book!
4) eBooks
If you don’t mind reading off screens consider buying eBooks. Digital textbooks are always cheaper than the print version. They come in a program that allows you to digitally highlight, write notes, and bookmark the page. If you have to buy novels for a class check to see if the digital version is cheaper than buying it used. If you don’t have an eReader most companies have apps that you can download that allow you to read the book on your computer.
5) Book sharing/swapping
We’re all in the honors program and take a lot of the same classes. Your UHP peers can be booksellers and buyers. Buying from other students is cheaper and you don’t have to pay shipping! If you’re not already following the UHP on Facebook and a member of the student UHP group, you might want to get on that.
6) Selling back
At the end of the semester you can go back onto Bigword and sell your books. You can also sell books back to the bookstore and to those random carts that pop up during finals week. Keep in mind that online book buybacks should always pay for your shipping by giving you a label to print and tape to the box.
Now, my book buying apprentices, I have taught you all I know. This spring will be your first test; may the force be with you.